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Space Jam is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film starring basketball player Michael Jordan and featuring the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. The film is a prequel to the highly successful Fire Emblem: Gaiden Released theatrically by Warner Bros. under the Family Entertainment label on November 15, 1996, it includes an alternate story of what happened between Jordan's initial retirement from the NBA in 1993 and his comeback in 1995, this time with him being inspired by events including Bugs Bunny and his friends. Space Jam opened at No. 1 in the US and grossed over $230 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing basketball film of all-time. The Jordan In 1993, professional basketball player Michael Jordan announces his retirement from the sport to follow his late father's career as a baseball player. However, it becomes evident that he is not as skilled in baseball as he was in basketball. Jordan is assigned a publicist, the bumbling Stan Podolak, to make his new career less bumpy. Elsewhere, in outer space, an intergalactic amusement park called Moron Mountain faces dwindling popularity, so its owner, Mr. Swackhammer, sends his diminutive minions, the Nerdlucks, to capture the Looney Tunes as new entertainment. The Looney Tunes live in an animated world hidden in the center of the Earth, but are unable to listen to the Nerdlucks' threats and challenge them to a game of basketball to try to win back their freedom. The Nerdlucks steal the talents of basketball players Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, and Muggsy Bogues, leaving them incapable of playing. The Nerdlucks absorb the talent, transforming into the gigantic "Monstars" who easily intimidate the Looney Tunes. While playing golf with Bill Murray, Larry Bird, and Stan, Jordan is sucked down a hole and is recruited by Bugs Bunny to help the Tunes win against the Monstars. Jordan at first refuses, saying he does not play basketball anymore, but changes his decision and agrees to help when the Monstars insult and humiliate him, and hurt Tweety, but first sends Bugs and Daffy Duck to his house to retrieve his basketball gear. The two have a difficult time obtaining the clothes due to the interruption of Jordan's pet dog, but his children help them out. Meanwhile, Stan has been digging out the golf hole to find Jordan, but spots Bugs and Daffy leap down another one and pursues them, reuniting with Jordan in the Tunes' world and joins the Tune Squad. Another new recruit is Lola Bunny, a skilled basketball player whom Bugs falls in love with. The day of the match arrives, but the first half is dominated by the Monstars, leaving the Looney Tunes unconfident. Stan overhears a conversation between the Monstars and Swackhammer, learning of how they gained their talent and informs Jordan. Bugs and Jordan convince the rest of the Tune Squad to fight back, and the first half of the second round allows the characters to take the lead using Acme weaponry. Swackhammer decides he wants Jordan as a new attraction, and makes an agreement with him that he will become an attraction if he loses the match, sparing the Looney Tunes. To ensure his victory, Swackhammer has the Monstars play dirty and injure all of the Tune Squad save Jordan, Bugs, Daffy, Lola, and Stan. Stan becomes the fifth player and manages to score, but is literally flattened by the Monstars and is removed from the court to be inflated. The referee, Marvin the Martian, informs Jordan unless the team gets a fifth player then the game is forfeit. Bill Murray appears and volunteers to be the team's fifth member. In the final seconds of the game, Jordan gains the ball and manages to use cartoon physics to extend his arm and score the winning points. Murray retires from the sport, and the Monstars blast Swackhammer to the Moon in a rocket when they realize they do not have to take his abuse anymore. Jordan convinces them to give up the stolen talents and they are welcomed to stay with the Looney Tunes. Jordan and a recovered Stan return to the surface, the Nerdlucks dropping them off at Jordan's next baseball game. Later on, the two visit the incapacitated basketball players and return their talent. The players invite Jordan to a three-on-three match but when he declines, they question his loss of talent. In a move mirroring his actual comeback in 1995, Jordan returns to the Chicago Bulls to reprise his basketball career. Cast Live-action cast * Michael Jordan as himself, an NBA guard who retires to pursue a career in baseball. ** Brandon Hammond as the young Michael Jordan. * Wayne Knight as Stanley "Stan" Podolak, a publicist who makes sure nobody bothers Michael Jordan. * Theresa Randle as Juanita Jordan, Michael Jordan's supportive wife. * Bill Murray as himself, an actor and Jordan's friend. * Larry Bird as himself, the Boston Celtics forward and Jordan's friend. * Thom Barry as James R. Jordan, Sr., Michael Jordan's father. * Penny Bae Bridges as Jasmine Jordan, Michael Jordan's daughter. * Charles Barkley as himself, the Phoenix Suns power forward, who gets his talent stolen by Pound. * Shawn Bradley as himself, the Philadelphia 76ers center, who gets his talent stolen by Blanko. * Patrick Ewing as himself, the New York Knicks center, who gets his talent stolen by Bang. * Larry Johnson as himself, the Charlotte Hornets power forward, who gets his talent stolen by Bupkus. * Muggsy Bogues as himself, the Hornets point guard, who gets his talent stolen by Nawt. Voice cast Because the film was made after the death of Mel Blanc on July 10, 1989, the character voices he originated were performed by other actors: *Billy West as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd *Dee Bradley Baker as Daffy Duck, Tasmanian Devil, and Toro *Bob Berger as Marvin the Martian, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, and Hubie and Bertie, a pair of mice who act as the commentators of the game. Credited as "Herbie" and "Bert" respectively. *Bill Farmer as Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, and Sylvester the Cat *Maurice LaMarche as Pepé Le Pew *June Foray as Granny Granny *Kath Soucie as Lola Bunny, a female rabbit who plays for the Tune Squad. Lola is a new character introduced in this film. *Frank W. Welker as Charles, Michael's pet bulldog who menaces both Bugs and Daffy when they are in Michael's house. *Danny DeVito as Mr. Swackhammer, the proprietor of the intergalactic theme park "Moron Mountain" who seeks new attractions to save his failing business. He's also the film's main antagonist. *The Nerdlucks/Monstars: ** Pound, the orange leader of the Nerdlucks, is voiced by Jocelyn Blue as a Nerdluck and Darnell Suttles as a Monstar. ** Blanko, the dim-witted and gangly blue Nerdluck, is voiced by Charity James as a Nerdluck and Steve Kehela as a Monstar. ** Bang, the belligerent green Nerdluck, is voiced by June Melby as a Nerdluck and Joey Camen as a Monstar. ** Bupkus, the giggly and crazy purple Nerdluck, is voiced by Catherine Reitman as a Nerdluck and Dorian Harewood as a Monstar. ** Nawt, the diminutive and clever red Nerdluck, is voiced by Colleen Wainwright as a Nerdluck and T. K. Carter as a Monstar. Music The soundtrack sold enough albums to be certified as 6x Platinum. It also served as a high point for musical artist R. Kelly, whose song "I Believe I Can Fly" not only was a hit, but earned him two Grammy Awards. Other tracks included a cover of Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle" (by Seal), "Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem)" (by B-Real, Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J, and Method Man), "Basketball Jones" (by Barry White & Chris Rock), "I Turn to You" (by All-4-One) and "For You I Will" (by Monica). The movie's title song was performed by the Quad City DJ's. Merchandise Video games There was a licensed pinball game by Sega based on the film and a video game for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Windows PC by Acclaim. Home media Warner Home Video released the film on VHS and Laserdisc on March 11, 1997 (the VHS version was sold with a collector's coin included). The VHS tape was re-printed and re-released through Warner Home Video's catalog promotions: the Warner Bros. 75th Anniversary Celebration (1998), Century Collection (1999), Century 2000 (2000) and Warner Spotlight (2001). The film was released on DVD for the first time on July 25, 2000. On April 4, 2003, the film was released as a 2-disc special edition DVD including newly made extras such as a commentary track and a featurette. On November 6, 2007 the movie was featured as one of the films in Warner Home Video's 4-Film Favorites: Family Comedies collection DVD (The other 3 films being Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Osmosis Jones, and Funky Monkey). On February 8, 2011 the first disc of the previous 2-disc edition was released by itself in a movie only edition DVD, and later that same year on October 4, 2011 the film was released for the first time in widescreen HD on Blu-ray which, save for an hour of classic Looney Tunes shorts, ported over all the extras from the 2003 2-disc edition DVD. Toys Toys were released coinciding with the film, including various action figures released by Playmates under the short lived banner "WB Toy". The toys had limited articulation and paired Michael Jordan, or another characters of the movie (Charles Barkley and the Monstars with a Looney Tunes character and accessories). Some figures depicted Michael Jordan as a basketball player, a baseball player and a golf player. The line included stuffed toys, decorated basketballs, as well as a McDonald's Happy Meal promotion. Reception Critical response On the critical response aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 36%, based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's consensus reads, "A harmless mishmash of basketball and animation that'll entertain kids but leave adults less than thrilled." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave Space Jam a thumbs up, as did Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, although his zeal was more subdued. In his print review, Ebert gave the film 3 1/2 stars out of 4, noting, "Space Jam is a happy marriage of good ideas—three films for the price of one, giving us a comic treatment of the career adventures of Michael Jordan, crossed with a Looney Tunes cartoon and some showbiz warfare. ... the result is delightful, a family movie in the best sense (which means the adults will enjoy it, too)." Siskel focused much of his praise on Jordan's performance, saying, "He wisely accepted as a first movie a script that builds nicely on his genial personality in an assortment of TV ads. The sound bites are just a little longer." Leonard Maltin also gave the film a positive review (3 stars), stating, "Jordan is very engaging, the vintage characters perform admirably ... and the computer-generated special effects are a collective knockout." Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film for its humor. He also praised the Looney Tunes' antics and Jordan's acting. Although Janet Maslin of The New York Times criticized the film's animation, she later went on to say that the film is a "fond tribute to Looney Tunes characters' past." Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune complained about some aspects of the movie, stating, "...we don't get the co-stars' best stuff. Michael doesn't soar enough. The Looney Tuners don't pulverize us the way they did when Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng or Bob Clampett were in charge." Yet overall he also liked the film, giving it 3 stars and saying: "Is it cute? Yes. Is it a crowd-pleaser? Yup. Is it classic? Nope. (Though it could have been.)" Other critics were less than kind. TV Guide gave the movie only 2 stars, calling it a "cynical attempt to cash in on the popularity of Warner Bros. cartoon characters and basketball player Michael Jordan, inspired by a Nike commercial." Margaret A. McGurk of The Cincinnati Enquirer gave the film 2 1/2 stars, saying, "Technical spectacle amounts do nothing without a good story." Veteran Looney Tunes/''Merrie Melodies'' director Chuck Jones was highly critical of the film. In a 1998 interview, he expressed his views that the film was "terrible" and said, as a man who worked with the characters for almost thirty years, the story was deeply flawed. "I can tell you, with the utmost confidence," he said, "Porky Pig would never say 'I think I wet myself'". Jones also added that, were the film more true to the source material, Bugs Bunny would not have incorporated the help of Jordan or the other Looney Tunes characters to defeat the Nerdlucks, "and moreover, it wouldn't have taken him an hour and a half. Those aliens, whether they were tiny or colossal, would've been dealt with in short order come the seven minute mark." Box office Space Jam was a box office success. At the end of its run, it grossed approximately $90.4 million in the United States and an estimated $230–$250 million internationally.< It is the highest grossing basketball film of all time and the third highest-grossing sports film, behind Rocky IV and The Blind Side. Accolades * 1997 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards ** Won: Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures (Diane Warren for the song "For You I Will") ** Won: Top Box Office Films (Jamshied Sharifi) * 1997 Annie Awards ** Won: Best Individual Achievement: Technical Achievement ** Nomination: Best Animated Feature ** Nomination: Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a Feature Production (Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone) ** Nomination: Best Individual Achievement: Producing in a Feature Production (Ron Tippe) * 1997 Grammy Awards ** Won: Best Song Written Specifically for Motion Picture or for Television (R. Kelly for the song "I Believe I Can Fly") * 1997 MTV Movie Awards ** Nomination: Best Movie Song (R. Kelly for the song "I Believe I Can Fly") * 1997 Satellite Awards ** Nomination: Best Motion Picture- Animated or Mixed Media (Daniel Goldberg, Joe Medjuck, Ivan Reitman) * 1997 World Animation Celebration ** Won: Best Use of Animation in a Motion Picture Trailer * 1997 Young Artist Awards ** Nomination: Best Family Feature- Animation or Special Effects In other media The Monstars make a cameo in the Pinky and the Brain / Animaniacs episode "Star Warners" (a parody of Star Wars). Jordan himself, who was a spokesman for MCI Communications before the film was made, would appear with the Looney Tunes characters (as "his Space Jam buddies") in several MCI commercials for several years after the film was released before MCI merged with WorldCom and subsequently Verizon Communications. Bugs had previously appeared with Jordan as "Hare Jordan" in Nike ads for the Air Jordan VII and Air Jordan VIII. In 2013, Yahoo! Screen released a parody of ESPN's 30 for 30 about the game shown in the film. The short dates the game as taking place on November 17, 1995, although Jordan's real-life return to basketball occurred on March 18 of that year. Sequel In February 2014, Warner Bros. announced a sequel which is set to star LeBron James. Charlie Ebersol will produce through his production company, The Company, with a script by his brother, Willie Ebersol. Jon Berg will executive produce. Representatives of James denied the claim that he would be involved. In May 2014, James was quoted as saying, "I've always loved Space Jam. It was one of my favorite movies growing up. If I have the opportunity, it will be great." In July 2015, James and his production company, SpringHill Entertainment, signed a deal with Warner Bros. for television, movies and digital content after receiving positive reviews for his acting role in Trainwreck and speculating a rumor that the production of the sequel to Space Jam may actually happen. In the meantime, current NBA players Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers participated in a live reading of the original film script with Seth Green and other actors for the comedy website Funny or Die. In February 2015, Nike and Jordan Brand announced a re-release of Bugs' "Hare Jordan" sneakers. space jam is the jamminist movie http://www.warnerbros.com/archive/spacejam/movie/jam.htm Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden is a freeware role-playing video game developed by Tales of Game's Studios, presented as an unofficial sequel to Barkley Shut Up and Jam! and Space Jam. It features traditional JRPG-styled battles and dungeons. Gameplay The player controls ex-NBA player Charles Barkley and a handful of secondary characters. A host of ex- and current NBA players also feature as NPCs. The game's battle system, dubbed the "B.A.B.B.Y. System," is influenced by many commercial JRPGs. Enemies appear on the game field and may run at the player and attack if the player moves into their line of sight. Once a battle is initiated, each player has a number of attacks and skills they can use. Most attacks require multiple or timed button presses as in the Mario RPG series, and some of the attacks are accuracy-based, dealing more damage for more accurate hits. The characters can also be placed into healing, attack and effect battle roles, depending on their skill set. Plot The game starts off in 2041, twelve years prior to the main part of the game, in "post-cyberpocalyptic Neo New York". Charles Barkley performed a powerful dunk called a Chaos Dunk at a basketball game, inadvertently killing most of the people in attendance. As a result, basketball was outlawed and many basketball players were hunted down and killed. In 2053, another Chaos Dunk is performed in Manhattan, killing millions. Barkley is blamed for the Chaos Dunk and is hunted by the B-Ball Removal Department, led by Michael Jordan. Barkley is rescued by another outlaw referred to as the Ultimate Hellbane. Hellbane leads Barkley to the tomb of LeBron James, revealing that Hellbane's real name is Balthios, the octoroon great grandson of James. The ghost of James tells the two to seek the Cyberdwarf, who is hidden in New York's sewers. While searching for the Cyberdwarf, they are joined by a cybernetic Vince Carter, who has lost his memory. Upon finding Cyberdwarf, the four of them rush to a nearby church, where Barkley's son Hoopz is hiding. In the church, Jordan kills Father Larry Bird and holds Hoopz hostage. Cyberdwarf, looking at Hoopz, comments that Hoopz may be “The One”; this comment restores Carter's memory. He was killed along with many other basketball stars, but was rebuilt by the terrorist organization B.L.O.O.D.M.O.S.E.S. to kill Hoopz. Carter joins with Jordan, but the two are driven off by Barkley and his party. Cyberdwarf theorizes that B.L.O.O.D.M.O.S.E.S. used a powerful basketball called the Ultimate B-Ball, the same B-Ball used by the Monstars in the Space Jam to steal the powers of basketball players, including Barkley himself, to perform the recent Chaos Dunk, so they travel to the old Spalding building to find a rumored extremely powerful basketball. There, they discover that such a ball had been created, dubbed the Hell B-Ball. This ball was so powerful that a janitor who mishandled it inadvertently performed a Chaos Dunk in the building years ago. With the Hell B-Ball in hand, the party seek out B.L.O.O.D.M.O.S.E.S. They find the B.L.O.O.D.M.O.S.E.S. headquarters on the slave ship Necron 5. After freeing Carter from his programming and defeating Jordan in basketball combat, they find the leader of B.L.O.O.D.M.O.S.E.S., a shadowy version of Barkley created by the Ultimate B-Ball to destroy all life on Earth with a super-powerful Chaos Dunk, then repopulate the earth with Barkley clones. Shadow Barkley is defeated, but machinery on the ship is set to perform the Chaos Dunk without Shadow Barkley. Barkley stays behind while the rest of the party escapes from the Necron 5. Charles Barkley then performs another Chaos Dunk, destroying the ship and saving the earth. The game ends in a cliffhanger, where Hoopz and Cyberdwarf are aboard an escape pod in space without destination, and Balthios is left behind to fight the Monstars. Development Barkley was developed by Tales of Game's Studios, a group of several members from an amateur game development forum. The team was inspired after reading an awkward phrase on Michael Jordan's Wikipedia page about the fan debate over whether or not the movie Space Jam was canon without it specifying whether it was talking about theLooney Tunes series proper or Michael Jordan's life in general. Key members Chef Boyardee, bort, GZ, and quackgyver all had a hand in the development of the game, with other, more minor contributions being made by several others. The game was first developed on the RPG Maker 2003 game engine, but was later ported to Game Maker 6.1. Originally the game was planned to be released in both formats, but eventually the latter was chosen due to its increased power and flexibility. At the 2014 Awesome Games Done Quick event, the developers have stated they had never played the original Shut Up and Jam game and created it after brainstorming ideas for an RPG that made them laugh. Sequel On November 28, 2012 Tales of Game's announced the game's sequel, The Magical Realms of Tír na nÓg: Escape from Necron 7 – Revenge of Cuchulainn: The Official Game of the Movie – Chapter 2 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa, with a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.com to help fund it. The campaign for funding''TMRoTnnEfN7RoCTOGotMC2otHBS'' ended on December 28, 2012, and raised $120,335. While the sequel will retain the original's self-aware tone, all of the artwork is being created from scratch to avoid copyright issues. Notes # The full title for the game is Tales of Game's Presents Chef Boyardee's Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa. External links Category:Browse